Freed on a court order, radical cleric leaves jail
peshawar — A radical anti-US cleric imprisoned in Pakistan since 2009 left the jail in Peshawar following a court order for his release on health grounds earlier this month, his lawyer and prison authorities said on Tuesday.
The release comes amid rising US-Pakistani tensions following President Donald Trump’s accusations that Pakistan shelters militants, charges that Islamabad denies.
The cleric, 93-year-old Sufi Mohammed, is the former chief of the banned pro-Taleban group the Tehrik Nifaz-e-Sharia Muhammadi, or TNSM. He became widely known after he went to Afghanistan with thousands of other armed volunteers to help the Taleban fight against Americans following the 2001 US-led invasion. He was captured upon his return to Pakistan.
Sufi is also father-in-law of Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the outlawed Pakistani Taleban who is believed to be hiding in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Sufi’s lawyer, Fida Gul, said the ailing cleric was released on Monday night, after which his family took him to hospital.
Islamabad has for years tolerated Sufi’s activities, whose followers staged protests and blocked highways in northwestern Pakistan to pressure the government to enforce Islamic laws.
Ties between Islamabad and Washington could be further strained by the release of Sufi, who back in 2001 issued an edict, or fatwa, for holy war against US-led forces in Afghanistan. —